Safety

Vans Add Next-Gen Safety Technology

While electronic stability control (ESC) is now standard on all vehicles, commercial vehicles take the technology one step further. Built on a foundation of anti-lock brakes and traction control with independent control at each wheel, the Ram ProMaster City’s ESC system leverages a suite of active handling technologies — including adjusting to the weight of the load and offering greater control on uneven surfaces.Photo courtesy of Ram.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when cargo vans were uniformly large, powerful and, for applications that didn’t require all the size and displacement to transport contractor-type loads, somewhat inefficient.

Times have changed, and the segment has seen a proliferation of new makes, models, shapes, sizes, and powerplants.

And, along with all those new choices, manufacturers have been adding lifesaving safety technology, including active and passive systems rivaling the safety features now being built into passenger cars.

We quickly learned how technology, fleet needs, and government mandates have aligned to drive the implementation of safety features and make optional equipment now standard.

What Matters to Fleets?

Today’s safety technology in commercial vans can be divided into those that are designed to help drivers avoid collisions and those that protect them from harm when an accident can’t be avoided.

“What’s unique to the commercial industry is the focus on minimizing human error,” says Dshamal R. Schoetz, product manager, Sprinter and upfitter management at Mercedes-Benz Vans. “They’re being driven by people who work long hours with a lot of stress and fatigue. The van needs to be smarter than the operator.”

Manufacturers are focusing on features that also make sense to customers. As General Motors’ John Schwegman, director of commercial product and medium duty for the U.S., points out, they are working closer than ever before with fleets to ensure they are offering the right range of features to fit fleet’s needs.

“We’ve been working on an initiative to make sure we have the voice of commercial customers. Just last fall we put together a survey specifically on safety,” he says, noting that GM asked fleet customers to rate their interest in a range of safety features in various bundles and price points before developing their next generation of offerings.

So what features are fleet managers asking for? It’s a mix of old, new, and advancing safety tech.

• Active safety systems: Make no mistake: The light-duty van market is no stranger to the advanced, active, and autonomous safety systems that are becoming widespread in the passenger segment. Of particular interest to van manufacturers and buyers are forward-collision avoidance, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keep assist.

“How neat would it be if the vehicle just braked on its own?” asks Schoetz. “But I think the Holy Grail is communization of connected vehicles. Mercedes-Benz wants to be the frontrunner on connected vehicles. Once an agreeable standard is reached, vehicles that talk to each other will make huge strides in preventing accidents.”

Many of today’s safety features are organized for the driver within the dashboard control panel display. The Mercedes-Benz Metris Attention Assist feature, standard on all Metris vans, helps prevent drowsy driving using a highly sensitive sensor that monitors and records steering movement and speed. Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.

Schoetz believes that universal vehicle-to-vehicle communication is still five to 10 years out, but the OEMs are developing and testing systems today that will move the industry in that direction.

Cangany believes that these systems have the potential to reduce or eliminate traffic delays, thus saving drivers time and money. They could also potentially warn drivers if they are in imminent danger of a collision at an intersection, for example, and prime the brakes for engagement or even apply them autonomously if the vehicle ahead comes to a sudden halt.

In fact, one piece of this puzzle — forward-collision alerts with automatic braking — is something manufacturers have pledged to have available by 2022 in a memorandum issued in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The manufacturers are not waiting for NHTSA to drive adoption, notes Schwegman. “This memo has some of the key OEMs saying we’re going to get forward-collision on the majority of vehicles by 2022,” he says. “That is much quicker than if it were mandated.”

He went on to note that it makes sense to work together with the competition because, at the end of the day, customer safety is at the heart of things. “Sometimes there might not be a strong enough pull for all customers, but we look at the data and see it saves lives, so it’s not negotiable,” he continues. “So we supported this, along with NHTSA, and thought it was the right thing to do for the industry.”

• Rearview cameras: NHTSA already has elected to mandate the installation of rearview (or “backup”) cameras on every new vehicle, starting with the 2018-MY. None of our sources are waiting that long. Our experts say the cameras are indispensable for safely backing up in vans, especially the long and tall models that may not have windows behind the B pillar, let alone any rear visibility. To avoid hitting pedestrians, objects, or other vehicles, they say, rearview cameras are a must-have.

• Air bags: Multiple air bags are just as common in commercial vans as they are in passenger cars.

Ford introduced the automotive industry’s first five-row side-curtain airbag on the 2015 Ford Transit 15-passenger wagon. The airbag measures close to 15 feet long and 3 feet tall with a volume of 120 liters. In a crash situation, a series of sensors detects the impact and triggers two of the industry’s largest inflators to fill the entire airbag with stored gas in a fraction of a second. Photo courtesy of Ford.

Nissan now installs a full suite of air bags throughout its commercial lineup. The Nissan NV Passenger model includes dual-stage supplemental front air bags, standard front seat-mounted side-impact supplemental airbags, and standard roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags for the second, third and fourth rows in the outboard seating position. Ford introduced the industry’s first five-row side-curtain air bag in the 2015 Ford Transit 15-passenger wagon.

• Seat belts: “The single most important safety device is safety belts,” Ford’s Cangany stresses. “Front and side air bags and the Safety Canopy System supplement the protection provided by safety belts.”

Due to demand from commercial customers, manufacturers are experimenting with different ways to ensure drivers actually use them. Schoetz says Mercedes-Benz has started to produce seat belts made of a bright orange material so they can easily be seen from outside the vehicle. Orange seat belts are also available for Ford Transit and E-Series vans as well as Super Duty trucks.

• Electronic stability control: Today’s commercial vans may be sleeker and more aerodynamic than their predecessors, but they’re still susceptible to precipitation and high winds. Enter electronic stability control (ESC) systems, which aim to automatically assist drivers in keeping the vehicle upright and moving in the right direction.

A suite of safety and driver-assistance technologies is available on the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, including systems to monitor blind spots, stay in lanes, mitigate crosswind interference, protect against rollovers, and prevent rear-end collisions. One such feature, Collision Prevention Assist, uses radar sensors that measure vehicle distance and speed to calculate a safe distance and issue visual and audio warnings if a crash is deemed imminent.Photo by Vincent Taroc.

“Driver control improvement and stability systems are key to commercial vehicles, which spend most of their time on active roadways,” says Nick Cappa, Ram Truck spokesperson, noting that today’s ESCs aren’t just one-size-fits-all: They can automatically adjust to the weight of the load, ensuring the stability controls are always calibrated for the real-world conditions in which the van and driver are operating.

Side Wind Stabilization will be standard on all Ford Transit vans with the 2017 model-year. The technology applies the brakes on one side of the vehicle to help reduce the effect of a sudden side wind gust on the vehicle’s path.

• Bulkheads: Another area where one size does not fit all is the cage that separates the cargo area from the cockpit. The heavier the load, the stronger the bulkhead needs to be to prevent a cabin breach in the event of a sudden stop or collision. Security is another consideration: Some operators may not wish for the van’s cargo to be visible to would-be thieves. With all that in mind, OEMs are now offering a wider range of bulkhead options for fleet buyers to choose from.

In the commercial segment, Schoetz says, the push toward advanced safety is driven by multiple factors, including the rising cost of accidents. But the health of drivers remains paramount, and that’s the message fleet buyers are sending.

“What they’re most interested in is preventing accidents, lowering insurance costs, and reducing wear and tear,” he says. “Anything I can offer fleet buyers in those areas are the things they look for the most.”

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards to 68 2018-model-year vehicles in 10 categories. Of the winners, 21 vehicles have earned the Top Safety Pick+, while 47 others have earned the Top Safety Pick.

As Barry Pottle, President of Pottle’s Transportation states, “Drivers are the biggest asset in any company.” When accidents happen, you need a way to protect them and SmartDrive does that.
Get started today with the SmartDrive Video-Base Safety Program

Ford Motor Company is adding an estimated 26,000 2015 to 2017 Ford Transit full-size vans equipped with a trailer tow module to an existing recall — bringing the total recall in North America to nearly 99,900 vehicles.

Toyota will begin implementing a sensor-based system in its vehicles by 2021 that will allow them to communicate with other vehicles on the road as well as infrastructure to reduce collisions, the automaker has announced.

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is recalling approximately 224 2018 Ram ProMaster City compact vans because the gears within the hydraulic rack-and-pinion steering system may have a casting defect that can potentially fracture and lead to a loss of hydraulic steering fluid.